1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to mountings used to secure cantilevered fixtures to upright walls or other supports. More particularly, this invention relates to inexpensive mountings used to secure a molded plastic cantilevered article support to a support wall.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Bathroom-accessory support fixtures, that are intended to hold or support towels, robes, or personal hygiene articles, have been commercially available for many years. Such fixtures are frequently formed of metal castings, such as exterior-plated zinc, which provides the necessary strength for supporting cantilevered loads coupled with a desired attractive appearance. Such castings usually have their bases secured to the support wall by known fastening means, such as plated screws, while the intrinsic strength of the zinc casting provides the strength needed to withstand the stresses induced within the casting, and onto its mounting, by the application of downward forces of the weight of articles, that are cantilever-supported by being suspended from the extended end of the fixture.
Recent competition from foreign manufacturers, using inexpensive labor, has made it very difficult, if not substantially impossible, for United States manufacturers to compete in the market place, for manufacture and sale of such plated metal fixtures. One attempt to meet such competition has caused some U.S. manufacturers to turn to providing plastic support fixtures, created from injection molded, thin plastic shells, such as disclosed in our co-pending application, Ser. No. 715,745 filed Mar. 25, 1985, abandoned Sept. 2, 1986.
Prior art made known to applicants by citation thereof in said co-pending application include U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,940,888; 2,455,606; 2,492,945; 2,956,767; and 4,498,654.
It has been observed that use of injection-molded, thin-walled, plastic shell mountings for cantilevered bathroom fixtures frequently lack the necessary strength provided by metal castings, particularly when supporting substantial cantilever loads.
While injection-molded, plastic bathroom, fixtures provided with reinforcing means possibly might resolve the strength problem, the invention disclosed herein meets the problem by providing a novel mounting for molded plastic fixtures which are to be cantilever-mounted from a support wall, and which mounting is characterized by simplicity and inexpensiveness of construction, and by effectiveness in usage.
It is, therefore, one object of this invention to provide a new and improved fixture mounting, for molded, thin-walled, plastic fixtures, that are subject to cantilevered forces and stresses, so that a novel combination of features of construction, as disclosed herein, operates to reduce the maximum amount of stress that is developed in the molded plastic fixture element, particularly in the region where the fixture element is secured to its mounting, and essentially eliminates or greatly reduces stress on the mounting section, or terminus, of the fixture that is positioned adjacent the support wall for the fixture, thus permitting greater use of molded plastic fixtures that have reduced intrinsic material strength when compared to molded metal fixtures.
Another disadvantage of support fixtures for bathroom accessories is that they are frequently supported by being secured to the walls of the bathroom by screw means extending directly through the base of the fixture and into the wall, thereby requiring the design of the base of the fixture be interrupted by bores for accommodating screw stems, and having the mounting screw heads exposed. These interruptions in a fixture's base provides recesses that may be difficult to clean, and are less attractive, as is generally known, than a concealed mounting.
Thus, it is an additional object of this invention to provide a new arrangement of a fixture mounting that is substantially concealed, to make the appearance of the mounted fixture more aesthetically pleasing, and to substantially eliminate bores through, and recesses in, the exterior of the fixture's wall that are difficult to clean.